Perspective
by Erymanthos
Summary: AU ONE-SHOT: Sarah is an art student who happens to have a certain "egotistical jerk" for a classmate. It seems like he takes every possible opportunity to get on her nerves, but what are the chances that her perspective of him isn't quite accurate?


I can't believe it. I'm actually uploading a fanfic, for the first time in forever (or at least, that's what it feels like). This is for _Labyrinth,_ of which I have recently become a fan. Particularly of the possibilities that are available for numerous "what if"s and potential futures for Toby, Sarah, and Jareth. But mostly Sarah and Jareth.

Written for and dedicated to **sadrain** on the avatar community of _Menewsha._ I hope you like it, dear.

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**Perspective**

"Very nice."

Sarah looked away from her easel at the young man standing a few feet away from her. Jareth was glancing over from his own artwork in order to survey hers.

"Oh, be quiet," she replied irritably. From day one of this art class, Jareth had always found ways to get on her nerves. The other students teased her about having attracted the attentions of the most affluent (and, so they claimed, the hottest) male student in the school. Sarah knew that they were secretly jealous of her, but she herself did not find anything about the situation to be jealous about. Jareth was a self-satisfied, self-centered jerk who only mocked her for his own amusement. Why he'd chosen her out of all the other students, she did not have a clue.

"Quiet, Sarah? Is it so hard to believe that I might actually be sincere in praising your work?"

"Do I really have to answer that?"

"Tsk, tsk, Sarah. Always so suspicious of everything I say." Jareth shook his head in a show of regret. "Such a pity."

She resisted the urge to shake her head, herself, and instead turned back to her easel. Lifting her charcoal stub once more, she began to make quick, sure strokes on her drawing of the still life in front of them… Albeit with a little more pressure than was necessary.

"Oh!" She gasped, stopping her hand in mid-air and gazing at her now-spoiled picture in horror. The additional pressure had given it an entirely new appearance; where once it was soft and smooth, now it was harsh with sharp details. Definitely not the way she had intended it to turn out.

"Oh, it's not fair!" Sarah cried out in frustration, slapping the charcoal stub down in the tray of the easel.

"I've noticed that you say that so often," Jareth mused as he strolled over and peered at the drawing from over her shoulder. "I keep wondering what your basis for comparison is."

Sarah glared at him. "It's ruined, now. It's all your fault!" Maybe she was acting a bit childishly, being a tad petty. She did not care. All she cared about was seeing Jareth contrite, angry, anything but his usual lackadaisical self.

"Ruined, Sarah? Do you truly believe that?" He looked down at her with an irritatingly confident smile playing about his lips. "I would not have taken you for one to give up so easily; nor to throw around blame where it wasn't warranted."

"What do you mean?" She asked sullenly, stepping away from him and crossing her arms. It was completely warranted! He was the one who had irked her! He was the one responsible for her drawing that was now all angles! He was--

"Well, for one thing," Jareth interrupted her train of thought, gazing at her drawing with a musing expression on his face and tapping one finger against his chin. "I for one wouldn't say that this is exactly ruined. Rather, it has been given… a new look. A new identity."

"Yes, it's gotten a new look!" Sarah shot back. "It looks--"

Jareth raised a hand, palm flat out, cutting her off. "Let me finish, Sarah. Do you see this area here?" He aimed a finger at the lower corner of her drawing, and she reluctantly turned to look. "If you smudge it a little, like so--" he rubbed the tip of his finger over it slightly. "--you can hardly tell that it was once so defined at all. And look, it gives the rest of the drawing more depth, a more dramatic composition."

Sarah had to admit that it did look a little better. But she would only confess this to herself, of course.

Then she jumped as Jareth put his hands on her shoulders. "If you take a step back--" he drew her backwards gently, but she still almost stumbled. "--and look at the entire picture--" he put his face down next to hers; she could feel his breath on her ear. "--you'll be able to see a whole plethora of ways you can work with it. Make it something new. Something that's yours.

"It's all in how it's presented to you, and how you choose to see it."

He released his hold on her shoulders and returned to his own easel. Hesitantly, Sarah took up the charcoal stub once again. She drew slowly at first, then with increasing confidence. Maybe Jareth was right. Maybe she--

Wait. Did she just say that that egotistical jerk was right?

But she still couldn't shake the feeling that this time, he really hadn't been trying to goad her into irritation. She almost felt that he had in fact been trying to tell her something, something was in fact totally unrelated to the picture that she was now reworking.

If only she could figure out what that "something" was.

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Like it? Hate it? Leave me a review and tell me your thoughts. Just make sure they are constructive. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


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